Sabtu, 02 Maret 2024

US military cargo planes begin airdrop of aid into Gaza - CNA

WASHINGTON: Three United States military cargo planes airdropped food into the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday (Mar 2), an American official said, as the coastal territory faces a growing humanitarian crisis after months of war.

"We conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza" involving three US Air Force C-130s to provide "relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict", a US Central Command official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The planes dropped "66 total bundles of pork-free meals" on Saturday afternoon local time, the official said, adding that a tonnage figure is not currently available.

President Joe Biden announced the previous day that the United States would start to deliver relief supplies from the air into Gaza, after the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians at an aid convoy on Thursday.

In that incident, dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing a convoy in northern Gaza, which has been under siege since Hamas' Oct 7 attack on Israel, and where the United Nations has warned of famine.

Biden has pushed Israel to reduce civilian casualties and allow aid in, while at the same time, he has maintained military assistance for the key US ally.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the United States planned to carry out multiple airdrops that would last weeks.

He described it as a "tough military operation" that required careful planning by the Pentagon for the safety of both Gazan civilians and US military personnel.

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2024-03-02 15:32:00Z
CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvaXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLXdhci11cy1taWxpdGFyeS1jYXJnby1wbGFuZXMtYmVnaW4tYWlyZHJvcC1haWQtZ2F6YS00MTY2MDUx0gEA

South Korea publicly orders some doctors who walked off the job back to work - CNA

SEOUL: South Korea's government late on Friday (Mar 1) publicly ordered 13 doctors, at least some of whom have been vocal about a walkout by roughly 9,000 physicians over a health system reform plan, to return to work or face penalties.

The public legal notice is the latest sign of the South Korean government's continued hardline stance toward trainee doctors participating in the walkout or criticising the reform plan, after local police raided officials of a doctor's association on Friday, a public holiday in South Korea.

The health ministry posted on its website the licence numbers and hospitals of 13 doctors, ordering them to return to work or potentially have their license suspended or face criminal charges.

The doctors' names were partially redacted, but at least some appeared to be trainee doctors who had been especially vocal about the walkout and critical of the government, including Park Dan, head of the Korea Interns and Residents Association.

Authorities on Friday stepped up pressure to end the walkout, with South Korean police launching a raid targeting officials of the Korean Medical Association.

The government had given Thursday as the deadline for the doctors to return or face penalties, but health ministry data showed more than two-thirds of the trainee doctors, or nearly 9,000, had ignored the call to return to work.

Doctors are planning a mass demonstration on Sunday to protest the government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 starting from 2025 to remedy what it said is a shortage of doctors in one of the world's fastest-ageing societies.

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2024-03-02 01:02:46Z
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Jumat, 01 Maret 2024

Global condemnation follows deadly Israeli gunfire near aid convoy - CNA

"DAY FROM HELL"

Aerial images released by the Israeli army showed what it said were scores of people surrounding aid trucks in the city.

Ali Awad Ashqir, who said he had gone to get some food for his starving family, said he had been waiting for two hours when trucks began to arrive.

"The moment they arrived, the occupation army fired artillery shells and guns," he told AFP.

Hagari denied Israeli forces carried out any shelling or strikes at the time.

Looting of aid trucks has previously occurred in northern Gaza, where residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to stave off starvation.

The chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said no UN agency had been involved in Thursday's aid delivery, and called the incident "another day from hell".

Among its war aims, Israel says it is fighting to bring home 130 hostages captured by militants on Oct 7 who remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure over the captives.

At the latest protest in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, Alon Lee Green, 36, said things were at a crossroads.

"It's either we are going into an eternal war that will never stop," he said, "or we're going to a diplomatic agreement, an Israeli-Palestinian peace."

Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a gunman shot dead two Israeli men at a gas station on Thursday, the army and medics said.

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2024-03-01 10:24:00Z
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Job creation, GDP target among key economic indicators to look out for at China's two sessions - CNA

BEIJING: At China’s most important annual political meetings - the two sessions - which begin on Monday (Mar 4), all attention will be on the country’s key economic indicators.

Analysts have speculated that the central government will set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 5 per cent. This is after at least five of China’s top urban economies had set their targets at above 5 per cent during the local versions of the meetings.

However, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, Ms Wang Dan, said it is a tall order, given the relatively high base of 5.2 per cent growth in 2023. She said a target of around 4.5 per cent would be more viable.

“If we set a higher than 4.5 per cent target, that means the economy needs a much bigger boost, especially in the housing market. But the fundamentals in China are relatively weak at this point,” she told CNA.

“Blowing up the housing bubble is not in the government’s or individuals’ best interest. So a lower target is more realistic.”

The annual GDP growth forecast is closely watched as the effect of a more demanding target will cascade down to other aspects of policy-making.

“If it is around or higher than 5 per cent, that means China will continue to implement pro-growth fiscal policies, and also a rather pro-growth monetary policy. Anything that's below 5 per cent means that China will focus more on innovation or transition to a more sustainable green economy,” said Mr Li Wei, senior China economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

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2024-03-01 07:38:00Z
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CNA Explains: Why thousands of doctors in South Korea are striking - and defying deadlines to return to work - CNA

Thousands of junior doctors in South Korea walked off the job last week, to protest against the government’s plan to raise the number of students admitted into medical schools.

The striking doctors-in-training have continued their labour action past the Thursday (Feb 29) deadline to report back to work, and now risk facing prosecution and suspension of their medical licence. 

Why are junior doctors protesting?

Doctors, who are considered essential workers in South Korea, are restricted by law from striking.

But some 9,000 medical interns and residents - about 80 per cent of the trainee workforce - have been on strike since Feb 20, disrupting services at major hospitals, which have been forced to cancel surgeries and turn away some patients. 

Most striking doctors remained off the job on Friday, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. 

Their main gripe? 

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government wants to boost medical school admissions by 2,000 a year, from the current 3,058 to alleviate a shortage of doctors and a looming demographic crisis. The plan is meant to eventually add up to 10,000 doctors by 2035. 

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2024-03-01 07:23:00Z
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Kamis, 29 Februari 2024

Push for 'new productive forces' set to feature at China's upcoming 'two sessions'. What is it all about? - CNA

As the challenges stack up, the two sessions could provide indications of potential government action to come.

“Many are looking forward to stimulus packages for the economy. Reinvigoration of post-Covid recovery will be given importance,” NUS’ Dr Lim told CNA.

Still, another observer does not expect the economy to be singled out for special mention.

“If you focus too much on it to the detriment of other areas, it basically sends a signal that maybe the central authorities recognise that there are indeed problems in the economy,” said Dr Hoo.

“I don't think they would want to over hype all these risks, because by doing so it's sending negative market sentiment.”

DEVELOPING "NEW PRODUCTIVE FORCES"

Either way, analysts expect a fresh push for productivity and innovation to be made at the two sessions amid the economic troubles.

Specifically, the development of “new productive forces” or “xin zhi sheng chan li” in Chinese, which state media have termed “a recent catchphrase in China’s policy making”.

The phrase was first mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September last year, during an inspection and research trip in Northeast China.

“It basically means new industries to drive China's development … like high-end semiconductors, AI, big data, the next Internet,” Dr Hoo told CNA.

He linked it to China’s pursuit of self-reliance and high-quality development, pointing out how this can be seen as a response to external trends such as decoupling - or de-risking as it’s known in Western parlance.

Official data showed that annual foreign investment flows into China shrank for the first time in over a decade last year. Overseas companies invested 1.13 trillion yuan (US$157.1 billion) in China in 2023, an 8 per cent drop on-year.

The value of announced US and European greenfield investment into China dropped to less than US$20 billion in 2022, from a peak of US$120 billion in 2018, according to US-based research firm Rhodium Group.

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2024-02-29 22:00:00Z
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Scores killed waiting for aid in Gaza as overall Palestinian death toll passes 30000 - CNA

Israel disputed the account provided by health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months in a war that began after the Palestinian militant group's deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct 7.

An Israeli military official said two separate incidents had occurred as the convoy of trucks passed into northern Gaza from the south along the main coastal road.

In the first, he said aid trucks were surrounded by hundreds of people and, in the confusion, dozens were injured or killed, by being trampled or run over.

As the trucks left, he said, some of those who had rushed the convoy approached Israeli forces including a tank, which then opened fire.

"The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired towards those who posed a threat and did not move away," he told journalists. "This is what we understand. We're continuing to review the circumstances."

He said he did not believe the death toll provided by the Palestinian authorities but provided no Israeli estimate, saying: "It was a limited response".

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2024-02-29 13:35:00Z
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